Shakespearean InsultsDante walks in while Ecco was reading the Toronto Sun:
Dante (Put on a surprised face)
Great Scot! Ecco, you saucy, hell-hated miscreant! Still digging into the papers after writing all those magnum opuses?
Ecco(Put on a shocked face and his coffee down)
Great guns! Dante, you surly, ill-breeding varlet! But I thought you’re the one with the magnum opuses!
Dante (sits down on a chair)
Well, someone has to die in order that the rest of us should value life more. At least that’s what I’d thought. I stopped writing 7 years ago; I wanted my fans to yearn for more of my fiction before writing a new book.
Ecco
And that was why I called you. My last book, written 10 months ago, was the least lucrative work of all time! I even said to it. (slams the table) “Though art puny, fly-bitten haggard” People don’t ready anymore. They just watch Youtube and DVDs all day. (give a big sigh) My sister told me books make people think about heaven and hell too much; so a sizable population out there just got logophobic and stopped buying novels. It wasn’t like the good old days when your “Divine Comedy” made millions. You’ve got to be pensive if you want to write again.
Dante(rubs his chin with his fingers)
I know. The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist. People simply don’t like thinking about God or the devil. They have made technology their god, and books their devil. Is that why you’re reading this article about holograms? (peeks at Ecco’s article)
Ecco
Kind of. The Japanese made the first successful one a few years ago, and now they’re thinkin’ of mass producing them in the form of 3D games and electronic goods.
Dante (raises voice through-out dialogue)
I sometimes want to say to these technical people, “You forward, fool-born louts!” The more technical wonders they invent, the less people think about life!
Ecco (speaks with an annoyed tone)
I even want to yell, “You villainous, clay-brained measles!” They cause people to wager an eternity by amusing themselves with these holograms and MP3s. We all go a little mad sometimes, but wagering an eternity by diverting our minds with technology is utter folly!
Dante (raises his closed fist and punches the air)
Absolutely! Huxley said to me once, “You can’t handle the truth!” God is a myth. You should stop writing those divine comedies o’ yours. This is a brave new world where technology rules.
Ecco(give a shocked look)
He really said that? But I thought he kind’a changed his mind recently. Anyway, Dante; maybe I’ve been havin’ bad luck. Just remember to ask yourself, “Is it safe” before launching your next novel!
(Ecco get’s up and leaves with the article under his arm)
(zoom out. Lights fade into black)
